Episode 137: Special Guest, Christian Fetterman, of "Gringo Mode On"

Listen to this Episode of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher.

Paige: You're listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I’m Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And I'm Ian Kennedy.  

Paige: And today we have a special guest who is in Chile right now: Christian Fetterman. You may know him from his YouTube channel “Gringo Mode On” as well as on Instagram, Facebook, and all the social networks. Quite prolific in Chile. I’ve watched a lot of your videos. They're pretty funny. Welcome to the show, thanks for joining us.

Christian: Yeah, thank you for having me on Coffee with Gringos.

Paige: So, listeners as you all know, if you get lost check out that audio guide and transcript online at www.dynamicenglish.cl. So, Christian, you're new to the show so tell our listeners a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been in Chile? Why did you move there?

Christian: So, I'm from the United States. I've been in Chile for seven, almost eight years. What happened was, I was supposed to be an education major. I was supposed to be a marketing major first, but I changed a couple of times ended up being education, and I wanted to learn Spanish. I had my mind set on it.  What's that song? It's like George Harrison “I got my mind set on you”. I knew I had my mind set on learning Spanish. I had to learn it. Like I would do anything to learn Spanish. So, I went and lived in Spain for three months in a little town outside of Madrid with a Spanish family where I was supposed to teach them English. But I ended up, I didn't teach them anything and I just lived with a family for three months, basically. So, then I didn't learn really any Spanish, so I decided to finish my degree, and I was like okay, I want to go to another place. Let's figure out where? And it's like, I actually had a Chilean neighbor—my parents had a Chilean neighbor—who was like seventy-five years old ex-poet. And yeah, he was inviting me to play chess with him. I was like, why would some weird seven-year-old poet, why would I play chess with this dude? It turns out he's from Chile. He was hilarious, like wacky, like eccentric, like just off his wagon, but he spoke a lot of Spanish to me and taught me chess. And then, his wife was Argentinian and I call her like my godmother, I call him my godfather even though my parents are like, “They're not actually your godparents…” By law, they're not my godparents but they're my godparents and so then yeah, he got me excited about Chile, I guess. I also had some Chilean tutors when I was in college when I first started, and then it was like, alright, Chile it’s going to be and there's this program called Teaching Chile that was like, “Come down to Chile, teach any school, live with a Chilean family.” I was like oh, those are all things that sound interesting to me. So, I did Teaching Chile and from there, that was one year. They gave me a small town in Chile—Los Andes. I finished that year and then I ended up moving to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar for like four years then I moved to Santiago like three years ago.

Paige: Nice. Yeah, that is kind of what happens. You plan to go for a year and then all of a sudden it becomes seven.

Christian: Yeah, I mean it's changed so much since I've been here. My settings have changed a lot and I've had, I would say, like eight different jobs—in total. I’ve had a different job every year since I've been here, to be honest. So, it's never gotten dull, that's for sure.

Ian: So, for example, what are some of these different odd jobs you've been changing around besides your YouTube channel?

Christian: So, let's see…I taught at a series of preschools in Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. They're called Charlie Brown. So that was when I just wanted to go live in Viña and Valpo. I just love the cities and I was like I want to live there. So, I passed my resumé around the different schools. The only one that called me was a preschool. Yeah, and I was like, but I've never taught any kid below like ten years old really. They were like no it's fine. I was like “okay” and they gave me the curriculum and they were like “Okay, just go ahead. Just figure it out. Here's a sala of three-year-old, for half an hour. Just give it a go. I was like, “Alright, mother finger, father finger…” like really nervous and then I got better at it over time of using toys and try to make it dynamic. And that was like doing that for like two and a half years. It was actually like my best jobs I think I've ever had. It was a lot of fun.

Paige: Nice. I bet your Spanish is pretty good now.

Christian: Yeah, I mean I've been to enough parties where I was the only gringo at the party or salas de reunion. Preschoolers don't know any English, like that helped me to everything along the way—it contributes. It didn't come completely naturally. I've had to work at it for sure.

Ian: Sure, but it helps to be in a place where you're all the time being immersed in the language, right? I know that's helped me out a lot so it's kind of like sink or swim. You kind of learn it or you don't and then you have trouble getting by. So, it sounds like you've really taken advantage of taking on the Spanish and really utilizing that while you're living in a country like Chile.

Christian: Yeah. I mean, that's why I came to Chile so any point I can or I always try to like hang out within the gringo community, because I think Chile does have a cool community of people from all over the world, that there's a comedy group like “The Chistolas”. It's English comedy in Santiago, like what? That's really crazy. So, I've hung out with those groups but I've always tried to the majority of my time hanging out with Chileans in some capacity or another. Sorry, I got a rambunctious cat that is biting me right now. It’s Cosmo! He does not stop.

Ian: What's its name?

Christian: Cosmo.

Ian: Cosmo—I like it.

Paige: Hey, Ian. Did you know besides the podcast, Dynamic English offers one-on-one classes of native teachers from all over the world?

Ian: Really? But isn't it just a bunch of grammar lessons?

Paige: No, it's completely discussion-based and focuses on topics the student is interested in.

Ian: That's amazing. But what if I'm not living in Chile?

Paige: No problem. Dynamic does online classes. You can be living anywhere.

Ian: Great, but I'm a little intimidated to take the class alone. Can I join with a friend?

Paige: Of course. Dynamic offers group classes of up to four. Plus, for the next month, Coffee with Gringos listeners get 10% off individual or group classes. So go online to www.dynamicenglish.cl and mention that you are a listener and get your discount.

Ian: Well, I'm sold. The Sign me up.

Ian: So Christian, we've both seen your YouTube channel—"Gringo Mode On.” Hilarious videos. A lot of them I know are parodies of Gringo stereotypes, Chilean stereotypes, comparing the culture. I'm sure a lot of our listeners right now know what videos we're talking about, but how about you tell us a little bit about that. So, when did you first start the YouTube channel Gringo Mode On and what really inspired you to do that?

Christian: Awesome, yeah. Thanks for watching the videos. I started doing some videos in high school. My first video actually was fun things to do in York, Pennsylvania. It's still on YouTube but it's like, it's just me playing video games and it's so dry and it's like throwing socks at a fan, a cat chasing a flashlight. Like, there's nothing to do in York, Pennsylvania. We're in front so that was the video, and I got some views, so I guess that kind of gave me encouragement to continue. And then I did a couple of stranger videos.  Like, me and my friend, we went to Walmart, and we asked people, the game was if you can ask them, you get them to admit that they watch pornography, you get a point. We asked like, old women, we asked like, I mean, all people, just in general. We had like the strangest people we possibly could, employees, and there were some other questions too that were more explicit. But yeah, that was our video, we pretended like it was some school project for education and then we were just asking these very personal questions about people's tastes.

Paige: And that's how you spent your first night in jail.

Christian: Pretty much. I mean we didn't get kicked out of Walmart. It was uncomfortable. It was really uncomfortable for a lot of people.

Paige: So, it felt like you always were into video so it just was natural and you became a teacher to start your own channel to promote education?

Christian: Yeah, it was like I said, I kind of was doing one-off for a while and then I came to Chile and I just was focused on teaching English and learning Spanish. And then when I was at the preschool, it was like, alright, how do you prove to the parents that these kids have learned something? Like, because they're like three years old. Most of them are too shy to speak in front of parents like an assembly or something so I was like, I'll just do a video to their edited some videos. I remember the first time I showed it to the parents, some of them were crying and I was like alright, this is cool. Like crying watching their kids speak English. I was like alright; I should keep doing this. That was my thing. Like, maybe okay I showed up late, sometimes my classes then they weren't always following through. I wasn't a seven out of seven teacher but at the end of the year, you were going to get a good video. Like parents will cry, and so that's what kept me around for another year, basically. It was like my saving grace at this preschool.

Paige: Nice. It seems like, the Gringo Mode On definitely has a certain style to it. It's a lot of humor—parody. Tell us how did you think of that kind of style? That idea?

Christian: Humor is always something that means a lot to me. I have an older brother who's hilarious. My older brother who's nine years older than me, so he's always made fun of me when I was little, and he's just vicious. Like, he's constantly making fun of me. He's really fast and that's something I always liked with my family is that whenever we hang out, it's just all about like who's faster. So, for me, it’s a humorous family. Humor means a lot and my friends here in Chile. Like most of them are pretty, some of them are pretty wacky. But a lot like they're all funny, like, really cast the cartoon characters, I guess like in some way. So, I really enjoy watching like “The Simpsons” or, “The Big Lebowski”, those kinds of things that I don't know, I guess I find them really funny. So, for every video I do, it's always different. I guess my target is never the same. That's why I make fun of everybody to some extent and myself, so no one feels like they're getting the brunt of it or excluded, to some extent. So, every video is different. You know, some videos I want to make fun of the protesters of Capitol Hill, or another video I want to make fun of gringos that first get to Chile and all their misconceptions. Another one will be like some of the things today. Do you know like, it's worth making a few jokes about it even if I get some bad comments like, “how do you come to our country and make fun of us?” Because I make fun of everybody. Come on.

Paige: Do you have any favorites? Any favorite videos?

Christian: See, when the gringo first gets to Chile, that one was cool. And for me too, it's like the making of the videos is also a story. When I went to the protest to film like “Gringos Cuando Van a Las Protestas en Chile”. It was just me and a friend like, we had a kind of a script that we printed out but we were just like legit that was tear gas like right next to us, and it was like people sprinting left and right, and I had to be like “Close the camera. Let's run. Okay, let's go.” You know, it was like we were in Baghdad or something like trying to film a video. It was like a warzone that we're trying to do this video and my buddy’s like “No we can't. No, we can't film there.” You know, people are throwing rocks.” And I was like, “Do you want the shot? If you don't want the shot, do you want to be a journalist or not?” We were sprinting around and I had to recruit people to be a fake thief.

Paige: Oh, that was fake? I thought that was real. I was like, how did you get footage of that?

Christian: I had to put up a thing on Instagram like, “Hey, if you want to be in a Gringo Mode On video, come on down.” So, like four people responded, but thankfully four showed up. I had to convince them like, “Hey, this is just a funny video if you can let me use your space for half an hour. “And they were like, “Well, just let people walk by.” They were cool with it when they saw the video afterward. They thought it was awesome. But yeah, it’s the videos themselves and then like this, a lot of cases, it's like the weird stories of beg, borrow, stealing we had to do in order to make the video.

Ian: Sure, that's great. It seems like a lot goes into it, and it's great too I think as a gringo or as a Chilean watching your videos because, like we said, they are relatable because all those of us who have moved to Chile or gone and visited for a long time, you can relate to those things and so you can really laugh and say “Oh my God, I was the same way when I got there or I thought this part of the culture was a little different for us.” And so, I think while they're really funny, they also kind of like they really make a connection with the people who also have that experience. So, I think it's both fun and sort of meaningful in its own way too even though it's sort of tongue-in-cheek or these funny sorts of videos I think they have more than one meaning to people who watch them so it's really great.

Christian: That's awesome. Yeah, I guess, in weird ways, they are still educational videos of like, “don’t do this.”

Ian: Exactly. And so Christian, you've been doing this channel for about three years now. I know you've been doing videos for a long time before that but specifically with Gringo Mode On for about three or four years now so, I'm assuming you must have a blooper reel of sorts— a lot of extra footage maybe that doesn't make its way into the channel. So, could you tell us a little bit about maybe some funny things that have happened or some memorable things?

Christian: Oh sure. So, one of the things that didn't get in are some videos that were like they were just too racy for network television. Let me think. I mean, it's like because I always get so attached to each video while I'm making it but as soon as it's done, I kind of just try to forget about it a little bit. So, one thing I want to do, it hasn't happened yet, but I'm all about this idea and I've told people about it and they're like, “What are you thinking? What is this?” I really want to make it happen one way or another, is a Chilexploitation video. So, like blaxploitation movies in the 70s which once in a while when I'm drinking with a few friends, I’ll put on a blaxploitation movie because they are pretty amazing. And so, it's like the afro guy and it's like he's the smooth guy trying to get back at “the man.” You know, there's the white guy like, “I'm going to get you. You can't go around here.” And then he has a cool Cadillac car and like “He is: ‘Shaft’” or whatever. Like, what would be a Chilean version of that? Or what would it be like, “The Gringo”?  Imagine a “gringoxploitation.”

Paige: I mean, I feel like you would do it for like cuicos or something would be funny.

Christian: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, like “The Quico.”

Paige: Yeah, that'd be a funny idea. We are in podcasting where we don't need the b-roll or any of that stuff but we record for probably an hour sometimes and use ten minutes of it. So, you probably just have so much raw footage when you make these videos and it becomes, sometimes, two or three minutes.

Christian: Sometimes, in the beginning, we start filming being like, please let's just film the good stuff. Oh man, because my friends will be like “This will be in the bloopers.” I'm like, “I got to watch this.” The first time I show it to people with all the raw footage, they're like, “Dude, I don't get this at all. Like what is the point of this video?” It’s like, “Well, I'm trying to show that gringos don't know that much about this…” And they're like, “Just do it again.” I'm like, “No, I already filmed it.” Like, “Okay, well do you have other footage?” I’m like, “Okay, well, I got these other backup jokes.” I'm like, “Okay, well maybe this one work. Maybe this one works.” It's a lot of trial and error. I wish I was one of those guys that just like boom, I show up, first take it was awesome and I have friends that are like that. I'm trial and error. That's the same way I learned Spanish was just failing in front of people until I got better. I think that's the process for most people.

Paige: I think that's the process for most people. I feel like if they said they just woke up and learned the language, they're lying. It takes a lot of work. Yeah, so Christian, as you said you've been in Chile seven-plus years. It seems like it was a lot longer than you planned to stay. Do you think you're in it for the long-haul? You’ll permanently stay there or do you plan to go back to your home country?

Christian: Yeah. Part of me feels like I could stay in Chile and it's kind of cool and I got to build an audience here. Trying to be big in the United States doing this stuff or get an audience is really hard because there are so many people doing the same thing. I don't think I'll go back to the United States. I want to live off videos one way or another. For me, that's a big thing. I want to be able to tell a story, and if people are watching I can figure out affiliates and stuff and just live off that. Like, at some point I will have done every joke about a gringo in Chile. I will have reached the bottom of the barrel—it's coming. There's only so many angles I've been able to find, so I'm thinking at some point when I feel like alright, this isn't quite…I'm repeating myself, this is this isn't like what I want it to be, I'm thinking, I want to travel around South America for a while, see other countries and do other videos. I feel like there are a lot of interesting legends, urban legends, and people that believe urban legends that I could maybe do videos about urban legends in different South American countries and like really trying to get as close as I can. Some of it's too weird for like “Lugares Que Hablan.” Like they're not going to actually go to like El Trauco or like, you know, search for UFOs or something like. They won't do the crazy stuff. I feel like there is a space for that to be pursued. Like, just a wide-eyed gringo being like “What's that about?” You know, like maybe getting in trouble, or filming something crazy. Who knows?  

Paige: That's fair. I mean, I think we all kind of go through that when we're not living in our home country of, do we stay? Do we go somewhere else? Do we go back? But it seems like you've been there so long, you've definitely fallen in love with the country.  What do you love most about Chile?

Christian: I do think it's fun to be like the only gringo in the party. That is something to me I think, and the way Chileans would tease me and stuff I think it's pretty funny.

Paige: I'm assuming you get made fun of for that Budweiser hat you're wearing. You couldn’t be more gringo.

Christian: “The King of all beers.” “The King of all beers.” I stand by Budweiser.

Paige: America. Christian, this is great. Thanks for joining the show and making your videos. They definitely help our listeners and a lot of people who are trying to learn English and in a very funny way so it's great.

Christian: Thank you very much for inviting me. It means a lot to hear that.

Paige: Yeah, of course, and for our listeners, please check out Christian’s channel: Gringo Mode On. You'll find some hilarious videos, but don't take offense to them. He makes fun of everyone. Again, if you get lost, check out that audio guide and transcript online www.dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll see you next time.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     prolific (adjective): producing a large number of works such as art.

a.     The prolific artist decided to change his style.

2.     to have one’s mind set on (something)(idiom): to be completely determined to do something.

a.     I have my mind set on living in another country.

3.     dude (noun, slang): American English slang for “guy”; “man”; “friend”; “mate”.

a.     That dude over there is one of my best friends from my city.

4.     hilarious (adjective): very funny.                  

a.      The videos that he makes are hilarious and always make me laugh.

5.     wacky (adjective): funny; amusing; odd.

a.     I love hanging out with my friends because they are so wacky. We always have fun.

6.     eccentric (adjective): strange; odd; different.       

a.     The eccentric professor used different methods to teach the young students.  

7.     off one’s wagon (idiom): crazy.

a.     She has been off her wagon ever since the accident.

8.     dull (adjective): boring; uninteresting.

a.     It is never a dull moment whenever we are all hanging out.

9.     immersed (adjective): to be involved deeply in a particular interest.

a.     We have completely immersed ourselves in the culture in order to adjust.

10.  sink or swim (idiom): fail or succeed at something by doing something oneself.

a.     Living in a foreign country can be sink or swim so you should prepare yourself.

11.  to get by (phrasal verb): to survive.

a.     You can get by using only a little bit of the language, but I don’t recommend it.

12.  rambunctious (adjective): unrestrained; wild.

a.     The rambunctious preschoolers made the teacher very tired.

13.  parody (noun): an imitation of something for comedic purposes, usually making fun.

a.     Parody comedy is popular all over the world.

14.  stereotype (noun): a widely held image or idea of a particular person or thing that isn’t necessarily true.

a.      It is fun to laugh at American and Chilean stereotypes.

15.  explicit (adjective): inappropriate; extremely honest.  

a.     The comedian shocked the crowd with his final explicit joke.

16.  saving grace (noun): redeeming quality or characteristic.

a.      His one saving grace is that he is very nice to his family.

17.  vicious (adjective): intentionally cruel or mean.

a.     You have to be able to take criticism because his jokes are vicious!

18.  brunt (noun): the worst part or impact.

a.     She always takes the brunt of the jokes but she also thinks they are funny.

19.  to sprint (verb): to run very quickly.

a.      The criminal was sprinting down the street and away from the police.

20.  tongue-in-cheek (adjective): ironic; insincere.

a.      They are big fans of her tongue-in-cheek style of humor.

21.  blooper (noun): a mistake or something embarrassing that is recorded or filmed.

a.      The bloopers from this movie are so funny!

22.  racy (adjective): sexually inappropriate.

a.     The novel was considered racy during that time.

23.  cuico (noun, slang): Chilean term for upper-class.

a.     You could do a parody about cuicos next.  

24.  b-roll (noun): extra video or recordings not used in an official production.

a.     As a YouTuber, I’m sure you film a lot of b-roll.

25.  long-haul (adjective): long term of time.

a.      Do you want to be a comedian for the long-haul or change your career?

26.  affiliate (noun): person or organization officially attached or connected with a larger organization.

a.      We have established links with our British affiliates to do a new show.

27.  bottom of the barrel (idiom): the lowest possible point of something; nothing left.

a.      One day, I will be at the bottom of the barrel with these jokes but not yet.

28.  wide-eyed (adjective): innocent.

a.     He was just a wide-eyed gringo until he moved to Chile.

29.  to stand by (something) (phrasal verb): to support.

a.     I stand by the comments that she made.